1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a shifting apparatus of an automatic transmission for an automotive vehicle, and more specifically to a shifting apparatus of an automatic transmission mounted on a steering column and linked with a key lock mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
The shifting apparatus of an automatic transmission as described above is ordinarily composed of a control tube rotatably disposed in a steering column, a shift lever attached to a socket fixed to the steering column so as to be pivotal up and down, a compression rod engaged with the shift lever and axially movably inserted into the control tube, a selector member fixed to a portion projecting from the compression rod on the opposite side of the socket, a shift plate formed with stepped cutouts selectively engaged with the selector detent portion of the selector member, and a lock mechanism for locking the selector member in cooperation with the shift plate when the shift lever is located at Park position.
In the above-mentioned shifting apparatus having a lock mechanism for an automatic transmission, the important points required from the design and manufacturing stand points are as follows:
(1) The structure is simple. PA1 (2) The operation is easy. PA1 (3) The function is stable. PA1 (4) The manufacturing cost is low.
However, no shifting apparatus for an automatic transmission which can satisfy all the above-mentioned requirements has been so far proposed.